5 Indianapolis Colts Players Whose Value Peyton Manning Completely Overinflated

When it became clear that Peyton Manning's neck injury would keep him on the sidelines for most of the season, everyone knew that the Colts would suffer. No one quite expected what the Colts have become, however.

With the Miami Dolphins' surprising victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Colts became the only winless team in the NFL. They have been bad all season, but these past three weeks, they haven't even competed.

When Manning was under center, the Colts looked like a team with lots of effective weapons. With the dispiriting trio of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky at quarterback, previously valuable players look merely mediocre.

The five players showcased here are the guys whose value Manning's presence most overinflated.

Austin Collie Is Neutralized Without Manning's Accurate Arm

Collie is sneaky fast and has excellent hands. His routes are crisp and he finds ways to get open over the middle of the field.

But without Manning throwing to him, those skills have been marginalized this year.

Collie's statistics tell the tale. In his rookie season, Collie had 60 receptions for 676 yards and seven touchdowns. In only nine games last year, Collie racked up 649 yards on 58 receptions and scored eight touchdowns.

Through nine games this year, Collie has a paltry 24 receptions for 215 yards with no touchdowns.

While he may be playing more cautiously due to his concussion problems from last year, that doesn't fully explain the dramatic drop in production. Manning made Collie better.

Shifty, slot-type receivers are more reliant on their quarterbacks having excellent rhythm and accuracy than other receivers. Wes Welker's career didn't truly take off until he was paired with Tom Brady in New England.

Similarly, Collie is just average without Manning to hit him in stride as he finds seams in opposing teams' secondaries.

Dallas Clark Isn't a Dangerous Pass-Catcher Without Manning

The picture above says a lot about why Clark's production is down this season. Manning and Clark developed an amazing rapport over the past eight years. Clark knew where to be and Manning knew how to find him.

Manning's quick release and pocket presence were two of his greatest assets as a quarterback. Collins and Painter don't have Manning's skills at getting rid of the ball. As such, before his injury last game, Clark was pulled in as an extra blocker more frequently than he ever has been.   

In addition, when he did head upfield to try to catch passes, Collins and Painter couldn't get the ball to him as quickly and accurately as Manning did.

Clark is still an elite pass-catching tight end, but until he has a better quarterback throwing to him, he won't reach the lofty heights he did in 2008 and 2009. 

Joseph Addai Isn't the Versatile Threat He Was with Manning at QB

Despite some injury problems, Addai is having a decent statistical year running the football. His yards-per-carry is up and he has shown good toughness between the tackles all season.

He has been much more limited in the passing game without Manning, however. Not only have his exceptional pass-blocking skills been neglected, but he also hasn't caught nearly as many passes as he does with Manning at quarterback.  

Addai is the kind of back who can hurt opposing teams in a variety of ways. Without Manning, two key aspects of his game are eliminated.

Robert Mathis Isn't the Terror to QBs That He Is When Manning's Around

Manning put enormous pressure not only on opposing teams' defenses, but also on their offenses. Their opponents always had to try to put points on the board through the air to keep up with the Colts. With Collins, Painter and Orlovsky, the Colts are 21st in the league in overall offense and points are scarce. 

Their defense has suffered even more, however. They are ranked dead last in the NFL in overall defense. The Colts defense was built to play with a lead. It is undersized and speedy. Guys like Robert Mathis get off the line of scrimmage quickly to pressure the quarterback.

Opposing teams can neutralize Mathis since they don't need to go to the air as quickly as they do when Manning is under center. Mathis is well off his normal pace for sacks on the season. With only 3.5 sacks this year, Mathis is not the threat he has been in the past.

Curtis Painter Is Who We Thought He Was

Colts fans haven't believed in Curtis Painter since he took the backup job from Jim Sorgi in 2009. Now we know that our lack of trust is justified.

Painter had a few good moments shortly after he took over from Kerry Collins a few games into the season. Now that we're nine games in, however, we see him for what he is—a borderline third-string quarterback who doesn't have what it takes to win games in the NFL.

He has five touchdowns and five interceptions with a 70.5 quarterback rating. He has fumbled thrice and his pocket presence is deplorable.

With Manning taking all the snaps, Painter didn't have to do anything other than hold a clipboard. His value as a backup quarterback wasn't tested.

Now that it has been, the Polians and Jim Caldwell know that they need to have a reliable backup quarterback for their star (whether that's Manning or Andrew Luck) in the future.